1“If you will return, Israel,” declares the LORD,

“Then you should return to Me.

And if you will put away your detestable things from My presence,

And will not waver,

2And if you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’

In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;

Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,

And in Him they will boast.”

3For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“[a]Break up your uncultivated ground,

And do not sow among thorns.

4“Circumcise yourselves to the LORD

And remove the foreskins of your hearts,

Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Or else My wrath will spread like fire

And burn with no one to quench it,

Because of the evil of your deeds.”

5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

“Blow the trumpet in the land;

Cry aloud and say,

‘Assemble, and let’s go

Into the fortified cities.’

6“Raise a flag toward Zion!

Take refuge, do not stand still,

For I am bringing evil from the north,

And great destruction.

7“A lion has gone up from his thicket,

And a destroyer of nations has set out;

He has gone out from his place

To make your land a waste.

Your cities will be ruins,

Without an inhabitant.

8“For this, put on sackcloth,

Mourn and wail;

For the fierce anger of the LORD

Has not turned away from us.” 9“And it shall come about on that day,” declares the LORD, “that the heart of the king and the hearts of the leaders will fail; and the priests will tremble, and the prophets will be astonished.”

10Then I said, “Oh, Lord [b]GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; yet a sword touches the [c]throat.”

11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness, in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12a wind too [d]strong for [e]this—will come [f]at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.”

13“Behold, he goes up like clouds,

And his chariots like the whirlwind;

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we are ruined!”

14Wash your heart from evil, Jerusalem,

So that you may be saved.

How long will your wicked thoughts

Lodge within you?

15For a voice declares from Dan,

And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.

16“Report it to the nations, now!

Proclaim to Jerusalem,

‘[g]Enemies are coming from a remote country,

And they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.

17‘Like watchmen of a field they are against her all around,

Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares the LORD.

18“Your ways and your deeds

Have [h]brought these things upon you.

This is your evil. How bitter!

How it has touched your heart!”

Grief over Judah’s Devastation